A Blast From The Past
by lilAzIaNpride24
Summary: 'The couple danced slowly in circles and as they turned, he saw how Sarah's eyes were closed and relaxed. She looked… content and genuinely happy; something that he'd never seen from her before.'
1. Chapter 1

**Hey fellow readers, this is my first Chuck fanfic, so please bear any characteristics that are off. I just recently took up watching Chuck about a week or two ago and I absolutely loved it! The show was so short lived, but it was worthwhile. I can't wait until the Chuck movie. :)**

**_Disclaimer:_ I do not own Chuck or any of the characters, except for the ones that you might not recognize. **

**This story:**

**-Ignores ****_almost_**** everything after the limo scene after the wedding so Chuck and Sarah are married and rich, Morgan never becomes the Intersect, Jeffster never find out about Castle or the fact that Chuck, Sarah, Casey, and Morgan are spies, we never find out about Verbanski and her history with Casey, Carmichael Industries is still afloat, and Sarah never loses her memories. Sounds like a perfect world, no? **

**-Oh, Bryce is still alive.**

**-The only thing that's not ignored are the events in S05E07 – "Chuck vs. The Santa Suit", S05E08 – "Chuck vs. The Baby", Chuck uploading the Intersect 3.0, Chuck and Sarah's new wish to turn Carmichael Industries into a company to counter cyber-terrorism, and the fact that Sara feared that she was almost pregnant and also the fact that part of her was hoping she was pregnant. Not all of things that appears in these episodes will be included within the story, it's just a precaution for future chapters. :)**

**By the way, all the street names are purely fictional. I live in New York City so I know the place fairly well, I'm just too lazy to research exact street names and cross-streets. Some places might be real or fake, it all depends on where the story is going to go as I write. **

**Enjoy~**

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Bryce Larkin walked down Orange and 9th as he brought his jacket tighter around him, huddling for warmth. He had just finished his mission to retrieve a device – codenamed Xavier – that had been stolen from the CIA that could control a person's mind with a push of a button. Who knew the CIA was such a fan of Marvel? Or maybe it was just the fact that Stan Lee had created the project in the first place… He laughed at that as he turned the corner onto Kensington to where his car was parked.

Snow lightly fell onto the streets as kids chased after one another and couples cuddled for warmth. Streets were filled with twinkly lights and people who were running errands and doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. On the corner, a lone street guitarist played a soft melody while people occasionally threw some change in his guitar case.

New York City was an extremely cold place to be during the winter, but it sure was beautiful. Well, the places that tourists visited were beautiful, other than that it was…

Bryce Larkin's reverie was rudely interrupted when the sound of a woman's laughter filled his ears. He turned around and looked for the source of the laughter, just to make sure that he wasn't going crazy, but he couldn't find her. He passed it off as his brain recalling some memory that he'd pushed back in the depths of his mind, but as he took one last glance at the people behind him, he saw the unmistakable blond tresses that belonged to _her_. He saw _Sarah._

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It had been a hell of a day.

Carmichael Industries had recently received a government contract from the CIA and NSA, courtesy of General Beckman. Their last mission before turning Carmichael Industries from a freelance spy agency into a company that counters cyber—terrorism consisted of the Ovails, a team of four dangerous brothers who owned a bar in downtown Manhattan and doubled as arm dealers. Long story short, Chuck had almost died when one of the Ovails threw a knife that was used to cut limes and lemons at his face that fortunately, he had dodged, but ended up piercing his upper right arm while Sarah had almost fell to her own death as she dangled from the edge of a ten-story building that Ricky Ovail had pushed her off of for about five minutes before Casey pulled her up. Nevertheless, it was a typical day at the office that was done all in a day's work and the team decided that they needed a well-deserved vacation.

General Beckman had thanked them and paid them for their services, wished them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and then informed them that their government contract with the CIA and NSA were still in effect if they decided to turn Carmichael Industries into a countering cyber-terrorism firm for which they were eternally grateful for. Alex had tagged along to spend Christmas with her father and Morgan and they had gone to have some quality time with one another while Chuck and Sara decided to roam around New York and sightsee before they joined their friends for dinner at a five-star restaurant, Chuck and Sarah's treat.

Sarah relayed a story about one of her missions in New York that included Russian terrorists and a fairly large bear as Chuck wrapped his left arm around her shoulders in an effort to pull her closer. Sarah had her left arm in her pocket while she moved her right arm around her husband's waist and into his right pocket which currently housed his right arm.

He hissed in pain.

"Sorry. Sorry, I forgot about your arm."

"I'm fine," he comforted her and added, "Come here. Having you by my side is worth a little pain." A classic Chuck Bartowski smile danced across his face as he wrapped his arm around Sarah's shoulders once more and continued walking.

"I'm just glad that the Intersect flashed when it did." Sarah said as she placed her right hand back in Chuck's pocket and laced their fingers together.

"You can say that again." Chuck joked as he placed a kiss on top of Sarah's head.

When Sarah laughed out of nowhere, Chuck looked over at her like she was crazy and asked, "What?"

"You're just really adorable right now." Sarah admitted.

"Well, I can't object to that. I am adorable."

A large smile formed across his face as Sarah agreed, "Yes, you are."

* * *

If it were anyone else, they wouldn't give the couple with the matching black wool jackets a second thought, but he wasn't just anyone. He was Bryce Larkin.

He slipped into his car carefully, so that he wouldn't be seen by Sarah and her male companion. They looked like a real life couple, but this was Sarah Walker that he was talking about. She would never compromise herself with anybody. For her, duty was always above her personal life and from the time since they last saw each other to now, that much wouldn't have changed. Or would it have? A million questions raced through his head as he watched the couple.

Sarah looked comfortable as the man kissed the top of her head. The man that she was cuddled against was tall and looked as if he was wealthy. A silver watch peeked out of the jacket sleeve of the arm that was wrapped around her shoulder and a plaid scarf was wrapped loosely around his neck. His hands were covered by black cotton gloves as were hers and they both wore the kind of earmuffs that wrapped around the back of your head.

That couldn't be Chuck, no. The guy she was with looked wealthy and Chuck worked at a Buy More. This guy had short, jagged, fashionable hair while the Chuck he knew had unruly curly hair. No, this was _definitely_ _not_ Chuck.

The pair had stopped to watch and listen to the street guitarist that he passed by as the man offered her his hand and she took it. She wrapped her gloved hands around his neck and his was around her waist as her head rested on his right shoulder. The couple danced slowly in circles and as they turned, he saw how Sarah's eyes were closed and relaxed. She looked… content and genuinely happy; something that he'd never seen from her before.

Maybe this wasn't Sarah, maybe this was someone that just looked like Sarah; a doppelganger of sorts. The Sarah that he knew would've never displayed such affection in public and she definitely would never allow herself to relax even for a second unless… unless this wasn't a mission and what this was in front of his eyes was real and Sarah had actually found someone she could connect to.

As they turned slowly, the man's face slowly came in view. He would finally see the man that swept the tough, bad-ass, no-nonsense CIA agent off her feet and made her look so innocent and sweet like a regular woman in love. Someone who knew the real Sarah and loved her, someone whom she genuinely loved, and someone who melted the ice that had once surrounded her cold, fragile heart.

He could almost see the man's face now, one more turn and he would see him. Just one more turn and…

Bryce sighed in defeat as other couples joined Sarah and her mystery man on the impromptu dance floor and obscured his face from Bryce's view. He could've easily just walked up to Sarah and her male companion, but that would compromise his cover. The CIA had him fake his death yet again, so that he could go undercover and destroy a group of rogue CIA agents that joined Al Qaeda, but that was over with, so why was he so hesitant to show his face to Sarah again? Maybe it was because Sarah looked so content and relaxed with the man or maybe he just didn't want Sarah to experience the hurt that she went through last time when she found out he was alive and not dead again. Either way, she deserved happiness and this guy gave it to her, so why ruin a good thing, right?

So, Bryce took one last long look at Sarah, started the engine of his car and drove to a standing reservation he had that was waiting for him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, this chapter is going to be fairly short than the last, but trust me, the next chapter will be (to quote Devon) AWESOME. :) This chapter does include a lot of Charah fluff. :P**

**P.S: Currently, I have another multi-chapter story going on about NCIS:LA, so updating might take some time. I do have a break from school coming up next week, but my school just assigned a mandatory, yet completely unnecessary Interdisciplinary Research Project complete with 3+ essays for our individual class and then a 5-10 page essay for the final project. UGH. Not to mention, I've got a writing assignment that includes original characters, plot lines, settings, conflict...etc on top of that that's due the day after break. Ugh. Enough of my rant, long story short, I might not have time to write another chapter for some time, but I'll try. Hope this'll suffice. :)  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck or any of the characters, that characters that you do not recognize are mine and purely fictional. **

**Enjoy~**

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Because of Chuck and his vinyl collection, Sarah fell in love with music. It made her feel at ease and expressed what she couldn't with her own words. So, when she heard the street guitarist – who looked like he was in his mid-20s – play, she made Chuck stop walking and just listened. Her eyes were closed and she listened intently, as if trying to soak in every note that the guitarist played.

As Sarah did this, Chuck looked over to wife. _God, he loved her._

She looked so beautiful as she listened to the music. Snow fell on her softly and her cheeks were a tinge of pink. Every time he looked at her, he fell in love again and again and again and this moment right now, was no exception.

Sarah opened her eyes as she felt Chuck's warmth slip away from her. He held out a hand and she smiled as she took it. His arms wrapped around her waist as hers wrapped around his neck. As she rested her head on his right shoulder, she closed her eyes once more and asked if he it hurt. He chuckled lightly and replied, "Stop worrying so much."

He rested his own head against hers as they danced in circles slowly. He closed his own eyes slowly and whispered, "I love you." He placed another soft kiss on her head and then leaned against her head once more.

"I love you too," Sarah returned the sentiment as a warm feeling of content swept over her. Nobody except Chuck ever made her feel this happy and for once, she didn't regret the decision to join the CIA, or date Bryce, or even Shaw because they all led her to Chuck and this moment right now.

Chuck opened his eyes and saw that their little impromptu dance inspired other couples to dance and get lost in the music and love as well. He smiled and continued to dance.

When the guitarist finished playing, couples – including Chuck and Sarah – stopped dancing and applauded the guitarist for the wonderful performance. They each threw in a couple of dollars or so into his open guitar case and the guitarist thanked them for their generosity. Chuck reached into his inner jacket pocket for his wallet and fished out about five-hundred dollars and placed it in the pocket of the guitarist's jacket.

Sarah smiled at her husband and his generosity. The love that she felt for this man right now was overflowing and she wanted to scream out to the world at how amazing her man was.

Once the guitarist's shock at Chuck's donation was worn off, he started thanking him profusely, but Chuck just asked, "What's your name?"

"Jacob. Jacob Lansky." The guitarist replied.

Chuck smiled, "Well, Jacob Lansky, I hope to see you in concert one day. Use the money wisely, you deserved it."

"I will." Jacob promised as Chuck placed his left hand on the small of her back and crossed the street, away from the street performer.

As they crossed the street, Sara couldn't stop staring at her husband.

"You know, if you keep staring at me like that, there's a good chance that you'll make a hole in the side of my face." Chuck joked as he faced her, a smirk on his face.

Sarah laughed and just replied, "It's just – I love you."

"You better, I'm your husband," Chuck joked again as he dipped down for a kiss to which Sarah happily gave.

"Come on, smart-ass. We have a dinner to get to."

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**A/N: Reviews are much appreciated! Thanks for all the lovely support that you guys have given me :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everybody! I'm so sorry about the lack of update, but as I told you before, my research project isn't really giving me much time. But I did manage to finish this chapter. I might add another chapter later tonight or tomorrow, but I'm not sure. My muse for this story has kind of been out of it and is currently running rampant from idea to idea in my head. On the plus side, I did just come up with another Chuck fic and a Hawaii Five-0 fic, so...**

**Anyways, enjoy~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck or any of the characters, except for my own.**

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The restaurant that Chuck had chosen was very high class, but it had such a mellow and chill vibe; it felt as if time stopped at this place. The walls were made of wooden panels and lined with beautiful paintings and artistic décor. The lighting was a dim yellowish color as it bounced off the wooden panels. The ceiling was low, but the place as a whole was huge.

People were dressed casually and Team Bartowski quickly realized how devoted the owners to this restaurant was to music and their customers. Chuck didn't have to act like a pretentious, wealthy, jack-ass here like he had to when he was dining at other five-star restaurants. This place was certainly becoming one of Chuck's favorite.

His laughter vibrantly filled the place as an unknown band played softly on the stage behind them. Their table was placed right next to the wall and a small tree stood strong and healthy behind Morgan. Morgan sat next the wall as Casey sat across from him and Alex sat next to him. Sarah sat next to Alex as Chuck sat across from Sarah, a seat away from Casey.

Casey had ordered the Beef Bourguignon (Beef braised in red wine, flavored with garlic, onions, carrots, and mushrooms), Alex had ordered the Lemon Risotto with Asparagus and Shrimp, a side of salad, Morgan had ordered the Classic Coq au Vin (Chicken in red wine, onion, and mushroom sauce), Sarah had ordered the Halibut with a Rosemary Maple Glaze, and the Farmers' Market Salad with Spiced Goat Cheese Rounds to share with Chuck, and Chuck had ordered the Chicken Parma. In addition, Chuck had asked for a bottle of 2003 Chateau Latour costing at around $500 and a glass of a fifteen year old Laphroaig single-malt scotch for Casey.

After the CIA dropped all charges on Team Bartowski, General Beckman had unfrozen and returned all of their assets back to them and for that he was eternally grateful. He had money to last two lifetimes and then some, so why not use it right? Chuck wasn't one to spend his money so wildly, but today was a special occasion. Today marked the day that Carmichael Industries would officially start as a firm that counters cyber-terrorism - metaphorically, of course. He still had a bunch of paperwork to fill out, equipment to buy, personnel to hire, people to interview, a website to redo, and an office space to acquire.

As Morgan started to tell a childhood story, Chuck absentmindedly played with his wedding ring. Next week was going to be his and Sarah's first wedding anniversary and he was planning to surprise her by showing her the new piece of land they'd acquired. Specifically, a two-story, five-bedroom, three-bathroom white house with a red door, and a white picket fence, complete with a large backyard for their maybe-babies to play in. Things were starting to finally settle down for the two of them and Chuck couldn't be happier.

That reminded him.

"Hey, I'm gonna go to the little boys room for a second."

Sarah nodded and as Chuck stood up to go, Morgan called after him, "Oh, come on Chuck! We were just getting to the part where you and I tried jumping off the roof and into the pool!"

Chuck just laughed and continued walking to the bathroom so he could call his real estate agent.

"You're serious?!" Sarah laughed.

"Yeah! Chuck jumped off the roof and into the pool with a cape on, but while he was jumping, his cape got caught on a tree branch and he had to stay there for like an hour until his parents got home. It was hilarious!"

Everybody laughed as he told the tale of how his parents got him down when something, rather, someone, caught Sarah's eye.

Her eyes flickered to the person and back, before flickering back to the person and staying that way. Quickly, she stood up, pushing her chair out of the way, startling everyone.

"Walker? What's wrong?" Casey looked up at her from his seat, concern showing on his face.

"Bryce?"

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated and highly encouraged. *wink wink***


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys. Thanks for putting up with my laziness and waiting for this chapter. Lately, my muse has been inspiring other fics and I needed to get them down before they escaped me. Thank you guys for all the support once again, and here's another chapter! Next chapter might be the final chapter and another chapter will come sometime tonight. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck or any of the characters.**

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"Bryce?" Her voice lingered in the air as her friends turned their heads to where Sarah was staring.

"Sarah." His voice was soft and full of relief, as if finally seeing her again took the weight of the world off his shoulders.

At once, Morgan and Casey stood up; their protective nature kicking in.

Bryce strode across the room towards Sarah. To him, it felt like it was only the two of them in the entire restaurant, but there was something wrong. There was something in her expression that he couldn't quite place. She was definitely surprised, but there was something else, something that was holding her back.

A thought came across his mind as he made his way over to her: _If she was here in New York, then that meant that it was her that he saw earlier. Then that meant that the guy he saw -"_

"Hey, guys, what's going on? Are we throwing another party or-" Chuck was abruptly cut off as he halted in front of the guest that arrived in front of them.

"Bryce."

_'Chuck._ _Damn. Damn, that meant that the guy he saw with Sarah earlier was Chuck.' _

_Damn._

"Chuck," Bryce forced a smile onto his well-honed façade and asked wittily, "miss me?"

Chuck was speechless. One moment, he was thinking about surprising his wife with a new house and in the next, he was standing in front of a ghost. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He raised a finger and slowly poked Bryce's shoulder, making sure that it wasn't his imagination playing tricks on him.

Bryce followed the movement of Chuck's finger and just shook his head when Chuck poked him.

"You think I'm a ghost?"

Chuck pulled his finger back quickly to his side and took a glance at his wife and friends to gauge their reactions before responding to Bryce's question.

"Well, the last time I saw you, you were dead, so…" Chuck left his response hanging in the air as he saw Bryce's eyes flickering over to Sarah; _his_ wife.

_'No!'_

He finally had Sarah to himself. Chuck knows it sounds over-protective and territorial, but he doesn't want to lose Sarah. And he has every right to fear losing Sarah. Every time he has Sarah, something or someone tries to drive a wedge in between them. Most of the time, that someone is either Shaw or Bryce.

But right now, he needed some air; he needed to be alone.

Chuck skirted around Bryce and took his coat that hung on the back of his chair. Sarah watched as he pulled his wallet from his coat's inside pocket. He took out about $1,000 in cash and plopped it onto the table.

"This should cover the cost of dinner and to get you guys to the hotel."

Sarah's heart broke as she watched Chuck leave the restaurant. Quickly, she took her own jacket and her purse and followed after Chuck. She pushed passed Bryce and out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw a ring on her hand.

"Chuck!" She called after him as the cold weather tingled on her skin. She searched frantically around the front of the restaurant for her husband as she pulled out her phone to call him. It rung once and then went to voicemail.

_'He just hung up on her! Shit.'_ She cursed at herself and hailed a nearby cab.

From a dark alleyway next to the restaurant, Chuck watched as his wife searched for him. He knew that he was worrying her, but he needed to be alone. He needed to get his mind straight.

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**A/N: Reviews are much appreciated! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, here's the promised last chapter I told you about in Chapter 4. Thanks for all the love and support that you guys have given me! 3 This wasn't how I imagined the ending, but I think that it turned out pretty well. :)**

**I feel like the show addressed Chuck's insecurities really well, but not Sarah's. I know that Chuck's insecurities are mostly gone now, but I think that there's still a lot of deep-seeded stuff that hasn't been shown. So this is what this chapter and this whole story is about. Warning: Really cheesy ending. ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck nor any of the characters. If I did, Chuck would've gone on forever and ever. :)**

**P.S: Is it just me or does Yvonne Strahovski look so similar to Kaley Cuoco from The Big Bang Theory?**

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Sarah Walker-Bartowski paced around the hotel room as she glanced at the clock again. It's been three hours since Chuck had stormed out of the restaurant and disappeared. He had disabled his watch's and his phone's GPS and gone off the grid.

_'She was starting to sound like he was going rogue.'_ Sarah shook her head and sat down on the corner of the bed. _'What if something had happened to him?'_

_'No!'_ Sarah couldn't afford to think like that. Chuck was going to come back. He always did.

Sarah must've had dozed off because one second she was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for her husband and the next, she found herself lying down, her eyes opening blearily.

The sound of the hotel room's door closing slowly dragged her back to reality. She looked towards the window and found that it was still dark outside.

"Chuck!"

Quickly, she brushed back the covers and rushed over to him. Her arms automatically wrapped around his neck as she whispered, "I was so worried."

"I'm fine," Chuck said, "sorry, I worried you. I just needed some time to myself; to figure things out. Sorry, I woke you. Go back to sleep, we can talk tomorrow."

Sarah pulled away from him, slowly and caressed her hand over his cheek. He didn't seem like himself.

"Chuck, what's wrong?"

"Sarah-"

"No, Chuck, tell me what's wrong. I'm your _wife_, that's what you do. You tell me things that you don't tell anyone else. _You're_ the one that told me that before, remember?"

Chuck took a sigh and conceded. He took off his shoes and peeled his jacket from his shoulders and slumped onto the bed as Sarah sat beside him.

"I saw a ghost today." Chuck bluntly stated.

"We all saw one, Chuck."

He took another sigh and closed his eyes. He felt her hands wrap around his as she said, "Chuck, you can tell me." Her voice was soft and warm and he felt terrible for worrying Sarah so much.

"It's Bryce."

Unbelief etched the features on her face as she sarcastically replied, "No..."

A smile appeared on his face for the first time in the last couple of hours. Sarah mirrored the smile and all her worries melted away for a second. It was amazing how after a year of marriage, his smile still gave her butterflies, stilled her heart, and made her at ease.

His voice turned serious and was full of worry and sadness, "I can't help but feel that Bryce is gonna take you away from me again. It seems like every time we're in good standing either him or Shaw or the Intersect get in the way. I can't help but think, '_How long will we last?' _"

For the second time this night, unbelief laced her voice. "Do you seriously believe that after all we've gone through to be together that I would leave you for Bryce? And that after all we've been through, that I wouldn't- _you_ wouldn't- let anything come between us?"

When he didn't respond, Sarah continued, "I love you, Chuck. Nothing is ever going to change that."

She tried to look into Chuck's eyes, but to no avail. "Chuck, look at me."

He avoided her eyes further.

Sarah took a sigh and tried a different approach to comfort him. "Chuck, I know you have a lot of insecurities stemming from Bryce and Shaw and the Intersect and I know that you know that I have a lot of insecurities too. I know that being with me caused a lot of insecurities too because you think that you're out of my league, but you're wrong, Chuck. You're exactly my type."

Chuck finally looked at her, "Your type is tall, dark, and caring?"

Sarah laughed. She remembered that moment in his kitchen and the moment after that. '_Oh, what a kiss that was.'_

"Yes."

"I thought your type were heroes."

"How many times do I have to tell you that you are a hero for you to get it through your thick skull, Chuck?"

He shrugged.

"Why do you think you're out of my league, Chuck?"

He turned his body towards her and honestly replied, "Because you are. You're beautiful and sexy and smart and amazing and I'm a nerd who works at the Buy More. If you never were assigned to me, then we never would've met. If you saw me on the street, you wouldn't give me a second thought."

"You're right, Chuck."

"Gee, thanks for the support."

Sarah gave a little laugh and responded, "No, I mean that if I was never assigned to you then we never would've met. But maybe we would have. If our pasts weren't so messed up, you would probably be the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs and I would've never joined the CIA. I probably would be in jail with my father right now."

"I guess…"

"And Chuck, you're not just a nerd who works at the Buy More. You're handsome and sexy and incredibly brilliant." She shifted herself to sit cross-legged in front of him and continued, "You're also sweet and loyal and caring and loving and wonderful. You're the best man any woman can ever ask for and you have all the characteristics that a man should have. Being tall, dark, and caring is a rare combo, Chuck."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better and because you love me."

Sarah gave him a little smile. "You're right, but that doesn't make it any less true. You may feel that you don't deserve me and I deserve better, but that's way-off. The truth is that _I_ don't deserve _you_ and I have no idea what I did to deserve you. I said it in my vows and I'll say it again, you're a gift and every day, I will show you that you're a gift that I deserve."

Chuck gives her the most sincere look that she's ever seen and says to her, "Oh, Sarah… I love you."

She gives him a smile of her own and replies, "I love you too, Chuck. Bryce Larkin has nothing on you."

"I-" He starts, but there's no words that can be put into this moment, so he just repeats, "I love you."

Sarah's love was enough for him and now, he definitively knew that his love was enough for her too. And somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, he knew that that had been true all along, but he'd been a fool to have ever doubted her love for him.

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**A/N: Reviews are very much appreciated! :) 3**


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